Rebels come alive in 4th to beat Cooper, 48-36

Jordan Mason | jmason@mrt.com

Published 5:45 pm, Friday, January 25, 2013

After a heated exchange left Lee down five points and one player at the end of the third quarter, the Rebels finally came to life Friday, overwhelming Abilene Cooper in the fourth quarter of a 48-36 victory at Chaparral Center.

"We got fired up because of everything that happened. I guess that's what pumped us up," Lee guard Johnny Rogers said. "And after the break we just gave it to them. We gave it all we've got, we left it out on the floor."

Rogers came up big for the Rebels (11-17, 3-9), scoring six of his team-high 10 points in the second half while also adding an assist and two steals off the bench.

"I thought Johnny played really good in the second half," Rebels coach Mark Coffman said. "If we had a game ball, I think he'd be the one to get this one. He just really picked it up and played."

Lee seemed to be slogging along early as it went to halftime down seven points and shooting 25 percent from the field.

Cooper (10-17, 4-8) had a chance to separate at the 5:01 mark in the third when guard Dante Lowry, who had 10 in the first half, was fouled on a made shot to put Cooper up 26-18.

But Lowry missed the free throw, and junior Anthony McCoy hit a layup on the next Lee possession to pull the Rebels within six again.

Lee closed the deficit to two points, its closest since the second quarter, late in the third before Cooper's Juvon Banks was fouled on a putback attempt, resulting in a dustup between the teams.

Banks and Lee guard Ian Johnson were both called for technical fouls, and Johnson was immediately tossed for his language, an official said after the incident.

While the elder Coffman said he felt the ejection didn't have anything to do with the change in course of the game, Rogers and Grant Coffman admitted it did for the players.

"We said we're doing this for Ian because he's part of our brotherhood,'" Grant Coffman said. "And we missed him, we really did, but we played for him."

Lee opened the fourth on a 14-0 run, taking its first lead since early in the first quarter when Coffman snagged a rebound and then hit Rogers with a long pass that led to a layup and a 32-31 lead with 5:34 to play.

"That's my seventh grade 'B' team quarterback coming out," Coffman said with a smile. "I saw it open, tried to be (Lee quarterback) Talor (Nunez) on that one and just let it go."

It was fitting that Rogers put the Rebels ahead for good as both Coffmans credited him for igniting the team in the second half.

"I saw Ant (McCoy) and Grant were tired," said Rogers, who was fighting flu-like symptoms himself, "so I just thought it was my time to step up because Ian was gone."

Lee even turned it around at the free throw line, hitting six straight to push the lead to double figures with 2:13 to play. Lee went 12 of 15 at the line in the fourth quarter after starting the game 3 for 11.

And after a close loss at the buzzer against Odessa High on Tuesday, Lee was happy to see the frustration end, even in bizarre fashion, late Friday as it prepares to hit the road for two straight.

"(We've got to take it) just one game at a time," Mark Coffman said. "We've got two road games next week, so maybe we can take care of that."